With awareness growing exponentially around the world regarding issues of global pollution, warming and clean energy alternatives, we are more often drawn to the damage pollution is doing to our planet on a whole rather than the specific knock-on effects these issues have to our health here in the UK. In particular, many reports which talk about global air pollution focus on the developing world and it is easy for us in the UK to dismiss these reports as not being something that directly affects us.
However, with the majority of us spending more time indoors than ever before, both at work and at home, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is becoming a hot topic of debate due to the negative effects this can have on our health. Since the 1970s there has been an increase in building design to take into account energy efficiency, mainly looking at ways to conserve heat to minimise energy costs. This has led to buildings that are more airtight than ever and while this does a great job of retaining heat, it also helps retain humidity, stale air and household pollutants - not so good!
So what exactly are these elements affecting our indoor air quality? Let’s have a look at the different common and some not so common pollutants:
- Humidity - Probably the best known issue due to bathroom extraction, humidity can cause damp problems that lead to the perfect environment for mould to form and prosper. Aside from causing extensive damage to the surfaces of building materials, moulds spread by releasing microscopic spores into the air.
- Particulate matter (PM) - Particulate matter can be a mixture of both solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the air that is mostly caused by burning fuel, cooking and road traffic. These particles are split into three main size categories based on the particle diameter and measured in microns (µm). These categories are PM10 (10µm), PM2.5 (2.5µm) and particles with a diameter less that 0.1µm - commonly known as Ultra Fine Particles (UFP)
- Carbon monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - These gases are formed when fuels such as coal, wood, oil and natural gas are burned. Most commonly these are produced in houses from open fires, wood burning stoves/log burners, gas hobs or cookers, and gas or oil central heating systems.
- VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) - These compounds are generally caused by cleaning and personal care products, building materials and other common household products such as cleaning products, air fresheners, deodorants and other aerosol based products and even carpets and furniture.
- Radon - Radon is a natural radioactive gas that is colourless and odourless, formed and released from the earth as it decays. Radon is not an issue in outdoor air as it disperses easily, but can become trapped in buildings built in geographical areas where Radon emissions are higher. It can affect buildings of all types but is often significantly more common in buildings with basements.
- Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) - Along with second hand smoke (SHS), tobacco smoke is well known for its negative health implications and trapping this smoke in an indoor area compounds these effects.
So, how do these pollutants affect our health? Well, as we spend time in indoor areas, our exposure to these pollutants allow them to enter our body - most commonly through respiration. They can have a range of effects on our bodies which are not limited to our respiratory system, and can also impact the health of different organs including the heart and brain. Eye, nose and throat irritations such as rhinitis can flare, chest infections can become more regular, the risk of heart diseases including higher risk of strokes and higher chances of developing cancers become more prevalent. Poor air quality can also cause skin irritations and rashes. New research is even discovering that there may be a link between poor air quality and exacerbated mental cognitive decline and dementia, type II diabetes and low birth weight, pointing to the fact that poor air quality affects people at all stages of life including prenatal.
Particulate Matter can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs including allergies such as hay fever and can exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions as well as causing lung cancer. Depending on the size of the particulate matter, pollutants can make their way into the lungs, with smaller particles reaching the bronchioles, alveoli, and in the case of UFPs, can even be transferred into your bloodstream from the lungs. From here, the pollutants can make their way around your circulatory system and cause issues throughout the body. This is true of airborne mould spores from humidity issues, VOCs and tobacco smoke as well.
Radon gas increases the risk of lung cancer if exposed to high levels over prolonged periods and smokers or individuals with pre-existing respiratory illnesses are at a higher level of risk from exposure. Although many people have not heard of Radon or are unaware of the dangers, Radon is the second highest cause of lung cancer after smoking.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that household air pollution kills 4 million people worldwide every year, mainly affecting lesser developed nations in Africa and Asia, where meals are still often prepared over indoor open fires or stoves and industrial emissions are less strictly regulated. Here in the UK, although as a more developed nation with much cleaner household infrastructure and regulated industry, according to Public Health England (PHE) poor air quality is still the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK. They estimate that long term exposure to man-made air pollution in the UK alone has an annual equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths. It is therefore vital that we control the cleanliness of our indoor air quality to help minimise our exposure to as much of these pollutants as possible. Insuring your home or workplace is suitably ventilated is a must and mechanical ventilation (MV) is the best option for a healthy and economically sustainable indoor environment. With the majority of MVs working not only to prevent poor indoor air quality but to also deliver low cost and low carbon operation, it’s time to protect our indoor areas while retaining heat and keeping our energy bills low.